Monthly Archive for July, 2006

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Why contribute online ?

Published on Wednesday, July 19, 2006 in Blog, Society, Trend and Writing. 0 Comments

From a link on boing boing I came across an article on citimedia’s blog. The post covers a recent study from Harvard University called “The Hype vs. Reality vs. What People Value: Emerging Collaborative News Models and the Future of News“. Even though the study itself is not a short blog post it is really interesting and worth reading if you have the time.

Some interesting trends that are documented about participants :
  • The will to share, is a big motivator, few wish to become journalists
  • A community to plug into, where trying things as a group means things can be tried and tested far quicker
  • More women than men vocalised the desire to find people with similar interests
  • A feel good factor and giving back factor is often cited
These five elements are cited in Citimedia’s blog by particpants as reasons why they do not participate in online communities :
  • Busy, haven’t got the time
  • Not perfect communities with low value exchanges
  • Often confronted with technical issues
  • User interfaces are hard to understand/use
  • Lurkers that only want to ‘listen’ that don’t feel they can contribute

There are some interesting Technorati graphs used in the survey that illustrate the evolution of the blog phenomenon. Other graphs illustrate the impact of world events on the quantity of posts/articles at these specific dates.

When Apple open up iTunes I’ll buy

Published on Wednesday, July 19, 2006 in Music, Tech and Trend. 0 Comments

I’m waiting to spend my first Euro on Apple’s iTunes !

What for ?

Well I’m waiting for the French legislation to go through, that will stop them from selling in their proprietary format. That will allow me to listen to it with the mp3 software of my choice and on the mp3 player of my choice. I own an iPod and that’s it. But I am sick of not being able to play the music with or on what Apple have decided.
I pay, I choose.
I’m also sick of listening to wining idiots on poor quality tech sites that have no other comments than to crack jokes about the French. Weird that, since several other European countries started voicing the fact that they would also like this very large market player to stop taking advantage of its dominant position, they no longer know what to say or who to joke at !
Well there have been some serious articles written but they seem to have a different opinion, could it be the lack of intelligence involved with the other joke happy idiots ? The Apple business model is as always with Apple a closed model that combining factors has brought to the forefront but this may be the way forward for a more open model…

And the first song I’ll buy, will be Natalie Walker’s No One Else. The whole album may have come out by the time Apple have finally come to their senses !

Hey the proprietary formats are ridiculous anyway.

Update : Interesting article at Fortune magazine :

Gravier says technology companies fail to realize that opening their software could create a boom for online purchases, since millions more people would be able to play downloads, increasingly on their mobile phones. “When records came out, they said it would close concert halls,” Gravier notes. “But they are still there.”

As well as a very interesting article at the Interntational Herald Tribune :

“Europe has managed to shift the debate into a conflict between citizens and digital controls,” said Peter Brown, executive director of the Free Software Foundation, a group that opposes proprietary software. “This is great because the discussion has been limited to technology circles for too long.”

Zidane, the after-shock

Published on Wednesday, July 19, 2006 in News, Society and Sports. 0 Comments

When I saw the replay of what happened between Zidane and the Italian player during the World Cup final I was completely shocked ! It was not part of the original match coverage so there was a lot of confusion and articles since have explained that video footage from a fourth referee was used to make the decision to give Zidane the red card. This was obviously the best decision regardless of what was said.

Before Zidane actually gave his interview, to a privately owned television company that has previously sponsored him, several newspapers took turns in determining what was said to him. One claimed he was called a dirty terrorist by the Italian player. I must say I nearly felt what Zidane did was justified when I thought this might have been true ! When reasoning with the facts in my mind though, the simple and ‘just solution’ is that the Italian player (that I have deliberately not named since he’s obviously not worth it !) should be sanctioned if this is what he said. ‘Le Monde’ put forward ideas that the Italian player may have called Zidane’s sister or mother names. This is according to Zidane’s interview, was what actually happened.
Justice, legal systems and rules are created to stop people from getting away with things like what Zidane did and what this Italian football player said !
Although bloggers are bringing on the humour factor here (Athletes behaving badly) and here (how different countries saw the event), this really is an after-shock doubled by disappointment.

Disappointment because Zidane chose a channel that is scrambled to the general public to have his interview when he claims to be close to the people. The fact that the interview wasn’t actually scrambled doesn’t change the fact that many people don’t even have the channel configured on their televisions. I was also disappointed in the way that Zidane behaved during the interview. After having said he was sorry to all the kids that saw what he did, he went on to say that he didn’t regret what he had done !
So all the teachers that have to stop fights in the playground when one kid says something unkind or very unkind will have to deal with explaining to them that their idol may have said he’d do it again given the circumstances but he was WRONG to say that.
What happened to “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” ! Zidane’s reaction on the pitch during the game and off the pitch during the interview are both unacceptable. Saying he’s sorry to the kids in his interview and then saying he’d do it again is just totally irresponsible especially after having discussed the subject of children that look up to him…

It seems according to a Spiegel article that Zidane’s mother has requested the Italian player’s “balls on a platter” for what he said to her son !

Hubsters and Wal-Mart

Published on Wednesday, July 19, 2006 in Advertising, Society and Trend. 0 Comments

So, do you know what a “hubster” is ?
Wal-Mart would like everybody to think that it is a community member of the Wal-Mart “The Hub”. The Wal-Mart ad company GSD&M would also like to think of this first and foremost. However as this blog points out, in the US, hubster is often used to talk about someone’s husband ex. “Hubster and me are going to the supermarket”.

The Wal-Mart project of an online community was pretty much ripped to pieces by AdAge in well written and well researched article a few days ago. It certainly does seem that Wal-Mart’s Ad company has not only relinquished any originality in it’s Hub project to MySpace but also dropped all hope of sincerity as well. It just seems as though no real spirit or sincerity stands out except lure kids in under the Wal-Mart banner and hand out a few presents. As the quote below explains the freedom kids always aspire is out of the door with Wal-Mart. There are many other ways to deal with kids security issues that don’t involve stopping them from doing anything!

As the Ad Age article explains :

It’s a quasi-social-networking site for teens designed to allow them to “express their individuality,” yet it screens all content, tells parents their kids have joined and forbids users to e-mail one another. Oh, and it calls users “hubsters” a twist on hipsters that proves just how painfully uncool it is to try to be cool.

Blair and Bush chat caught on open mic

Published on Monday, July 17, 2006 in News and Politics. 0 Comments

This is really interesting to check out, some footage from CNN that catches Blair and Bush talking together about the Middle East crisis in a very candid manner. It also gives you an idea of how these guys, that have great impact on our world, talk about things !
You can watch the video itself (the link to it is in the second paragraph). It’s not mind blowing but is an interesting insight into this little world of power struggles.

This footage and the Bush comments captured are discussed at the WashingtonPost.com with an Associated Press video that covers the G8 summit as well.

But as the Newsweek article points out, the way Bush seems uninterested in the whole crisis that is brewing in the Middle East, is the most shocking, disregarding his vulgar remarks.

But what was even more jarring about the remarks Bush made to Tony Blair at the closing meal of the G-8 summit in St. Petersburg was what they revealed about his views of Mideast diplomacy. Or, more to the point, his lack of interest in personally taking part in any of it.

Update : An eye opener article at the International Herald Tribune covers some other bloopers and typically Bush style behaviour and remarks. It would be funny to see if any other country would like Bush to represent them in front of the world !

Hacks and phishing, more and more sophisticated

Published on Monday, July 17, 2006 in Business, Code, Tech and Trend. 0 Comments

An article on WashingtonPost.com explains how a security flaw in Powerpoint has enabled hackers to infiltrate companies and retrieve vital information in a specific espionage case. It seems that the criminals using this hole in Microsoft PowerPoint wait until Microsoft have just released their security updates, and this is becoming a trend. In the wake of new updates they launch their attacks knowing full well that updates have not dealt with the flaw they have identified !

Andreas Marx of AV-Test.org notes that hackers appear to be surfacing with new exploits just days after Microsoft’s monthly Patch Tuesday cycle has passed, possibly to have more time to exploit vulnerable systems before Redmond issues its next round of updates.

Attacks like this and phishing techniques are well thought-out and often extremely complex operations that require skills that even some of the top computer companies would rather have in-house than having to battle against them. A recent MITM (Man in the Middle) attack against Citibank, rather Citibank customers, used an extremely sophisticated system that could easily fool savvy IT folks ! This attack is also explained in detail in washingtonpost.com’s Security Fix section.

Banks are now faced with traditional scams and the new extremely sophisticated cyber-scams like the above phishing techniques.

It’s a good idea to remember that banks will (should) never request your pin code over the internet and checking the domain name is a good idea. In the above example the domain name used was “citibank.com.tufel-club.ru” and not “citibank.com”.

Push the red button

Published on Sunday, July 16, 2006 in News. 0 Comments

Now, how fun do you think pushing a red button can be ?

Check this out !

Have fun, but not too much fun !

Update : Actually you’re not supposed to press the red-button, you’ve been warned ;)

Is your Senator selling out the Internet ?

Published on Wednesday, July 12, 2006 in Society and Trend. 0 Comments

A very useful new map of the US has been created at SaveTheInternet.com that lets you hover over a map of the US and see which senators are selling out the Internet by siding with the big companies that are keen on killing any Net-Neutrality bills out forward in the US Senate.

Check the map to see if your agree with the position of your senator !

Update, Just thought I’d add this that I came across last night and is far amusing than talking about senators :
Well this is a month old but the video is, as usual with Rocketboom, a witty and interesting piece of work :
Saving the Internet.

Barcode Design, the innovative touch is a winner

Published on Monday, July 10, 2006 in Advertising, Design, Marketing, News and Tech. 0 Comments

A small japanese company called Barcode Design has been awarded the ‘Cannes Titanium Lion’ for an innovative way of designing barcodes. The company is a winner and certainly is innovative as you can see from the barcode examples below :

pizza barcode surfing barcode
 
umbrella barcode

An interesting point, is that the reward is, as the Ad Age article covering this stoy points out, about forward thinking :

Dan Wieden envisioned the Titanium as an award suited to changing times, one that would recognize ideas that pointed the way forward.

It’s also a sign for the Cannes festival in that they are capable of forward thinking for picking such a company. Many traditional ad pundits would brush this away when it is a very innovative concept.

In another related article at Ad Age about this, the award is further explained :

David Lubars, jury chair and chairman, chief creative officer of BBDO North America, said the winner “transcended an ad or a piece of design; it’s something that will lift the world. They’ve taken something that we see every day that is a depressing symbol and turned it into a new media channel.”

Social Responsibility trumps Celebrity

Published on Wednesday, July 5, 2006 in News and Society. 0 Comments

In a Media Post article a brand study (among College Students) concludes that brands are more favourably viewed for social responsibility acts than other criteria like ‘great image’ & celebrity endorsements.

Among specific brands mentioned by college students, Ben & Jerry’s was admired for its “Lick Global Warming” campaign, while Newman’s Own earned praise for donating all profits to charity. Burt’s Bees, Yoplait, and the Body Shop also fared well.

It’s nice to see that companies doing the ‘right thing’ are rewarded for these good actions.